Work vehicles such as off road construction and agricultural vehicles are usually powered by combustion engines and operate in dirty environments. Often, an engine compartment is used to isolate the engine and cooling system from the dirty ambient air, which contains dust and other particulate matter. A work vehicle such as an agricultural harvester (e.g., combine) is also exposed to chaff (crop residue ) from the crop being harvested. The crop harvesting process creates dust, dirt, and chaff that surrounds the vehicle. Hot engine exhaust is also discharged from the vehicle.
During operation, clean air is needed for efficient combustion in the internal combustion (IC) engine and cool air is needed for efficient engine and vehicle cooling system operation. More particularly, the air supply must be free of debris and dust so as to mix with the fuel to provide combustion in the IC engine. The combustion air intake usually includes an air pre-filter and a separate air cleaner. Further, the air supply must be free of debris and dust for use as cooling air to cool the combustion engine, hydraulic system and cab air conditioning system of the work vehicle.
The air management system on some current combines involves drawing air through a louvered side panel into the cooling package. A rotating rotary screen with a vacuum cleaning system is used to pre-clean the dirty air before it passes through the heat exchangers of the cooling package. A combustion air inlet is located downstream of the rotary filter and has a separate pre-cleaner and air filter for the combustion air supplied to the engine.
However, prolonged use during harvesting operations can result in plugging of the rotary screen, plugging of the cooling package cores, plugging of the pre-cleaner, short air filter life, and excess debris accumulation on the engine deck. These affects of dirty air often require the operator to stop the vehicle and clean the air management system. Structural changes to the vehicle have reduced debris accumulation on the engine deck. However, the root cause of the dust and chaff in the intake air remains a problem.